The Power of Colour

Colour is often the first thing we notice in a painting. Before we even register exactly what the image depicts, we might sense that it is warm, cool, calm, joyful, dramatic, or perhaps a bit mysterious. This is one of the reasons why colour is so important in art; it can shape how we experience a subject and evoke an immediate emotional response.

This themed auction, The Power of Colour, showcases many different ways of using colour. Some artists paint landscapes where nature seems to glow with greens, blues, and yellows. Others employ strong contrasts to bring a portrait, still life, or figure to life. Sometimes the colour feels true to reality; at other times, the artist seems more interested in capturing a feeling than in making everything look exactly as it does in real life.

The beauty of colour is that you don’t need to be an expert in art history to start looking. You can begin simply: Which colour draws your eye? Does the image feel peaceful or energetic? Does it make you feel curious, happy, anxious, or calm? In this way, colour can serve as a gateway into art—whether you are a seasoned auction-goer or just beginning to discover the world of painting.

Four selected works

Eyla Lind, Girl with Cat, oil on canvas
A colourful and charming subject in which the green landscape, the red house, and the figure create a clear, immediate visual world. The painting possesses a naive warmth that makes it easy to like and invites the viewer to linger.

Rosa Ekelund, The Ride, oil on canvas
A colourful and slightly surreal image featuring a woman in a red dress riding a unicycle, holding a bouquet. The sweeping green background lends a sense of movement to the image, while the red dress serves as the painting’s distinct focal point. Igge Karlsson, Horses in Lyrical Colour, oil on canvas
A dynamic and poetic work in which the horses seem to emerge from the blue tones. The subject matter feels both representational and free, as if the artist has captured a sense of movement rather than a precise scene. Small red accents bring life to the cool color palette, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the image.

Else Maj Johansson, The Leper’s Darling, oil on canvas
A darker, more emotionally charged work dominated by intense green tones that fill almost the entire composition. The figures emerge from the paint rather than the other way around, lending the painting a powerful and somewhat enigmatic quality. Here, the color is not merely beautiful; it is fundamental to the work’s gravity and atmosphere.